


Ever Just the Same

by EG_Potter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drabble, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-10
Updated: 2015-07-06
Packaged: 2018-02-04 02:33:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 2,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1763029
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EG_Potter/pseuds/EG_Potter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fifty unrelated snippets from the relationship of Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Comprised mostly of stand-alone drabbles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Fascinated

He couldn’t help but watch her as she studied. Somewhere in the back of his mind he recalled her saying something about it annoying her when Viktor had watched her study, but he dismissed quickly, trying to do his best at pretending he wasn’t watching. She would move to grab another sheaf of parchment and he would readjust, stretching his neck or taking of his glasses and rubbing his eyes. Every so often, she would look up and smile at him. The smile warmed his heart and made him smile back. If only he had the nerve to tell her just how fascinated he was by her.


	2. Rotten

“Hermione?” Harry called from the kitchen of her apartment. She was in her room finishing getting ready.

“Yes?” She yelled back, trying to decide between black or red flats.

“Did you have your heart set on going to Bonds tonight?” He asked, worry seeping into his tone. Today marked their first year together as an official couple, so Harry had been planning on taking her out somewhere nice. Or so she had thought.

“Well.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “I _had_ hoped to…” She hesitated again. “Why?”

“What if I told you that I forgot to make our reservations?” Harry asked, his voice fading and growing louder in waves, as though he was walking around.

“Harry…” Hermione trailed off, sincerely hoping that she hadn’t gotten all dressed up for nothing.

The door to her bedroom clicked open just as she slid on her sleek black flats, revealing her boyfriend in the doorway. “Yes, Hermi…” His voice stopped abruptly as he looked at her. Her dress was a deep red and had one sleeve on the left which stopped just after her elbow. It clung to her body, accentuating her curves and flaring out at the waist into a full skirt that ended at her knee. She wore light make-up, and her hair was pulled back into a loose chignon, small curls framing her face.

“Da… Um… I…” Harry verbalized, unable to articulate a proper sentence. He cleared his throat to try again. “Wow.”

She glared at him. “I sincerely hope I didn’t get all fancied up to go to the Leaky Cauldron, Harry.”

“What? Oh, yeah, um, about that,” he smiled at her sheepishly. “I was only joking.”

“Harry James Potter!” She yelled at him, slapping his shoulder. “You rotten boy. Why would you give me such a heart attack?”

“Because I love you,” he told her, trying to smile his way out of trouble.

“You certainly have a funny way of showing it,” she deadpanned.

He kissed her, almost smearing her red lipstick. It would have continued on into something more heated if both of their stomachs hadn’t growled simultaneously.

 


	3. Into the Fire

“Harry?” Her voice was laced with worry, but he knew her well enough to know that she was trying to hide if from him.

“Yes, love?” He said, walking into their new bedroom where she was unpacking boxes.

She held up a Muggle picture of Harry and Ginny from their brief relationship when they were at Hogwarts. “Why’s this still here?”

“Oh,” he said, walking over and kissing his wife on her temple. “I guess it just must have missed the cleaning out phase.”

She continued to gaze at it. In the picture, Ginny was leaned over, kissing Harry on the cheek, while he just sat there with a huge smile on his face. “Oh.”

“Give it here,” he smiled at her.

Hermione handed him the picture, brown eyes meeting green. She smiled weakly at him, all of the worry that he had never gotten over Ginny showing plainly. Harry dropped the picture into the fire, and then grabbed Hermione around the waist.

“Don’t you worry so much,” he told her, kissing her gently.

“Old habits die hard,” she said, kissing him back.

In the grate, the picture’s edges curled as several months’ worth of bad memories for the both of them were pushed to the side for yet another night.


	4. Breathless

The cold air stung her lungs, ripping at them like frozen knives down her back. Rubbing her arms, she wished for warmth, or at least her wand to cast a warming charm. But it, as well as her keys, was locked in her house. The only thing she had on her person was a Muggle cell phone that her mother had goaded her into getting. Now, she was standing in front of her house, which was in a Muggle neighborhood, waiting on Harry to come and let her into her house.

After what felt like forever, headlights graced her driveway, and a tall man with messy hair stepped out of the car. She was glad to see him. He gave her a reassuring smile. “You know, it’s not unnatural to lock yourself out of your house, Hermione.”

She glared at him, “But I forgot my keys and my wand. That just isn’t like me!”

He just laughed, looking at her. “You’re cute when you’re cold,” he quipped.

She blushed, knowing her face was probably tinged red from the cold. “Are you going to let me in or not?”

He pulled out his wand and waved the door open, holding it for her to walk in. “After you.”

Once they were inside, she said, “It’s good to see you. Don’t be gone so long next time you have a conference, Mr. Auror.”

He smiled at her, pocketed his wand, and pushed her up against the wall, kissing her roughly, leaving her more breathless than the cold had.

“I’ve missed you, Mrs. Potter.”

 


	5. Drawn

She watches him as he moves from person to person, charismatic as ever. He doesn't know how gifted he truly is. She's drawn to him, like a moth to a light. His laughter catches her attention, a joyous sound that she loves. Why has she never noticed how captivated she is by him?

A red-headed girl in a cream colored dress comes and hugs him. He kisses her check. Hermione sighs and looks away, unable to observe the couple before her. This is their party though, a gathering of their friends and family to celebrate their engagement. Another sigh escapes from her lips. She fiddles with the cold ring on her own left hand, remembering the reluctance with which she had accepted it. In a split second, she makes a decision which will change her life forever: she wants the man she's drawn to; she wants Harry Potter.

Her fiancé's voice breaks through her thoughts: "You okay, Hermione? You look ready to kill."

A deep breath; then, "Ronald, we need to talk."


	6. Thunder

In the morning, some would say that it was unresolved sexual tension that resulted in Harry Potter and Hermione Granger cuddled up on the couch of the Gryffindor Common Room, both sound asleep. Others would blame it on Ron Weasley not paying the girl enough attention, while still others would just say that it was because they were best friends.

If only everyone knew that it had been thunder.

_Gryffindor Common Room, twelfth October, 1:04 AM_

The storm rolled outside, rain desperately pounding on the windows as though it too wanted away from the elements. Hermione, with Crookshanks resting on her stomach, sighed as she turned the page of her Transfiguration book. The thunder had woken her up. Since the storm was still raging, she had found it difficult to go back to sleep and had decided on getting ahead in her classwork.

Soft footfalls sounded from the staircase. “Hermione?”

The sound of Harry’s voice barely startled her. “Harry?”

“What are you doing u-u-up?” Harry yawned, crossing the room to where she sat. He sat down beside her, clad in a white under shirt and blue pajama pants.

She smiled gently at him. “The storm woke me up, and I couldn’t fall back asleep.”

“So you decide to read Transfiguration?” Harry asked as Crookshanks made his way over to the other human on the couch. Harry stretched out a hand to rub behind the part-Kneazle’s ears.

Hermione shrugged. “It was the first book I found in my bag. I was trying not to disturb anyone else.”

“Makes s-s-sense,” Harry yawned again.

Hermione laughed as her cat made himself comfortable on her best friend’s lap. “Why are you up, then?”

Harry shrugged. “Guess the storm woke me up.”

“Liar.”

“What?”

“I know that look, Harry Potter. You had a nightmare, didn’t you?”

“Maybe.”

Hermione sighed, giving him a meaningful look.

“I don’t want to talk about it, alright?” Harry resigned.

“Alright, we don’t have to,” Hermione said, closing her book.

Harry looked at her curiously. “Where are you going?”

She stared at the cover of her book. “Back to bed, I suppose.”

“Will you be able to sleep?” Harry inquired, fixing her with a look.

She sighed. He knew how much she hated storms. “No.”

“Come here,” he smiled at her.

“What?”

“I said, come here,” Harry clarified, reclining from his sitting position. “You’re taking up good foot room.”

Hermione sat her book down indignantly. “And where am I supposed to go?”

“Right here,” he indicated his chest.

“Harry, are you suggesting that we snuggle?”

He gave her a crooked grin, melting her heart, “Maybe.”

“People will talk!”

He laughed. “Since when do you care?”

She glared at him.

He smiled at her.

“Don’t you even try that, Potter,” she accused.

“Try what, _Granger_?”

She crossed her arms. “You know full well what.”

“I obviously do not know since I’m asking.”

“At any rate, I’m not telling you. It’s too early to be having this conversation.” She turned to leave.

“Hermione!” His voice was unexpectedly soft.

She turned. “Yes?”

“Stay with me? Please?” His voice was soft, pleading.

She walked back over to the couch, sitting just on the edge of the cushion. “Why?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

Lightning flashed outside the window.

“I think,” Harry said, “that if you stay with me, then maybe I won’t have a nightmare.”

She gave him a small smile. “It’s worth a shot.”

The book was placed on the table beside the couch; the half-Kneasle lay on the hearthrug, directly in front of the now-smoldering fire. The witch lay carefully on the wizard’s chest, her face resting gently against his shoulder; her forehead leaned just against his jaw. He had one arm wrapped around her waist, the other hanging off the side of the couch. Their legs were intertwined underneath the heavy knit blanket.

In the morning, people would talk. But just for the night, they would both sleep soundly through the storm.

 


	7. Sin

It was sin that brought them together. It would be sin that would lead them to later repent. But it was sin that brought them together that faithful December night.

She had been crying, again, ever-upset over the departure of their other companion. She was curled up in the armchair, wiping at her eyes, when Harry walked into the tent. He walked with purpose and there was determination in his eyes.  
  
The sight of him almost startled her. He looked so upset. She sat upright: "Harry, what's wrong?"  
  
"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong, Hermione. You have been moping around here for the last Merlin-knows-how-long, crying over the fact that he left us, and I'm tired of it! That's not the Hermione I know and..." He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck.  
  
"You know and what, Harry?" She questioned, her voice soft.  
  
He looked torn, as though weighing life and death. "The Hermione that... I know and love."  
  
Silence, then: "Love?"  
  
"Yes, Hermione, love. I love you. Not like a sister, not just as a best friend... I love you in the way the moon loves the stars. I always want to be around you and it's killing me to see you so upset over him."  
  
"Harry, I.." She faltered.  
  
"I know. It's a lot to take in. You don't have to respond right now either," he heaved a world-weary sigh. "I'll understand no matter what you say." He turned to go back outside to watch duty.  
  
"Harry, wait!" She stood up from the chair. "I'm not upset just because he left me; I'm upset that he left you. Abandoned you when you needed him the most!" Her voice became stronger. "And... I love you, too."  
  
Harry just stared at her. “You do?”

She looked down and the floor, “Ever since third year.”

Quickly, he closed the distance between them, pulling her into his arms. Bright green met with warm brown as he looked into her eyes. Gently titling her face up to his, he used his slight height advantage to capture her lips in his. The intensity of the kiss startled them both, causing Hermione to giggle in a very feminine manner. Harry cast a sidelong glance at the bottom bunk where Hermione usually slept, then back at her, his eyebrows raised. She blushed, nodding in agreement. He sat down, pulling her with him, kissing her fiercely. She returned his kiss just as passionately, straddling his lap and pushing him back onto the bed.

In that moment, neither knew what would happen that night; neither knew where they would go from there. All they knew what that they would never have expected it to happen, but were oh-so-happy that it did. 


End file.
